A Conspiracy of the Carbonari | Page 5

head bowed reverently, every voice whispered a single
word: "Master."
"My brothers," replied Colonel Oudet in a low tone, "important things
are being planned, and we must be ready to see them appear in tangible
form at any moment."
"We are prepared," murmured all who were present. "We await the
commands of our master."
"I have nothing more to say, except that you are to hold yourselves
ready; for the great hour of vengeance and deliverance is approaching.
The great Society of the Carbonari, whose devoted members you are--"
"Whose great and venerated head you are," replied General Massena,
with a low bow.
"The Society of the Carbonari," Colonel Oudet continued, without
heeding Massena's words, "the Society of the Carbonari watches its
faithless member, the renegade son of the Revolution, the Emperor
Napoleon, and will soon have an opportunity to avenge his perfidy.
Keep your hands on your swords and be watchful; strive to spread the
spirit of our order more and more through the army; initiate more and
more soldiers into our league as brothers; be mindful of the great object:
we will free France from the Cæsarism forced upon her. Look around
you in your circles and seek the hand which will be ready to make the

renegade son of the society vanish from the world."
"He is the scourge of our native land," said one of the generals. "His
restless ambition constantly plunges us into new wars, rouses the hatred
of all Europe against France, and this hatred will one day burst into
bright flames and plunge France into destruction."
"He is destroying the prosperity of the country for generations," said
another; he is robbing wives of their husbands, fathers of their sons,
labor of sturdy arms. The fields lie untilled, the workshops are deserted,
trade is prostrate, and all this to gratify a single man's desire for war."
"Therefore it is necessary to make this one man harmless," said a third.
"If no hand is found to slay him, there are arms strong enough to seize
him, bind him, and deliver him to those whose prison doors are always
open to receive the hated foe who blockades their harbors denies their
goods admittance to France and all the countries he has conquered and
everywhere confronts them as their bitter enemy."
"Yes, England is ready and watchful," whispered another. "She
promises those who have the courage to dare the great deed, a brilliant
reward; she offers a million florins and perpetual concealment of their
names, as soon as the Emperor Napoleon is delivered to her."
"Then let us seek men who are bold, ambitious, resolute, and
money-loving enough to venture such a deed," said Colonel Oudet.
"Form connections with those who hate him; be cautious, deliberate
and beware of traitors."
"We will be cautious and deliberate," they all replied submissively; "we
will beware of traitors."
"But while determining to free France from the ambitious conqueror
who is leading her to destruction," said Colonel Oudet, "we must
consider what is to be done when the great work is accomplished, when
the tyrant is removed. It is evident to you all that the present condition
of affairs ought not to last. France now depends upon a single life; a
single person forms her dynasty, and when he sinks into the grave,

France will be exposed to caprice, to chance; every door to intrigue will
be opened. We must secure France from every peril. We have now seen,
for the first time, that the proud emperor is only a mere mortal. Had the
bullet which wounded his foot at Regensburg struck his head, France
would probably be, at the present moment, in the midst of civil war,
and the Legitimists, the Republicans, and the adherents of Napoleon
would dispute the victory with each other. We must try to avert the
most terrible of all misfortunes, civil war; the emperor is not merely
mortal; we do not merely have to consider his death, but we must also
know what is to happen in case our plan succeeds and he is placed in
captivity. We must have ready the successor, the successor who will at
once render the Republic and the return of the Bourbons alike
impossible. Do any of you know a successor thus qualified?"
"I know one," replied General Marmont.
"And I! And I! And I!"
"General Marmont," said Oudet, "you spoke first. Will you tell us the
name of the person who seems to you worthy to be Napoleon's
successor?"
"I do not venture to speak until the head of the Carbonari has named the
man whom he has chosen."
"Then you did not hear me request you to speak," said Oudet, in a tone
of stern rebuke. "Speak, Marmont, but it will be better to exercise
caution and not let